I can truly say two words about Toyo M55 A/T tyres - €bloody fantastic€, but the reason why they're so good needs a little explanation.
I've been using the Toyo tyres for some years now, first on Toyota 80 and 100S Landcruiser wagons my wife and I used for a tour operation we ran out of Port Douglas.
We still use the same brand of tyres on our current 1998 model S100 LandCruiser. Needless to say, we've done quite a bit of off-road driving! However, Toyo m55 A/T tyres are not cheap and that's why you won't see them on a lot of vehicles. However, they also stand up to hard work amazingly well. I clocked up some 6000km on five Cape York Peninsula trips last year while updating material for a fishing and camping guide and of course magazine articles.
I did get one flat or blow out tyre - not bad considering the tyres had already done some 55,000km.
My travelling companions were not so lucky. One bloke had three blow-outs on a 1,300km round trip from Mareeba to the Coleman River and back. Granted he was carrying a big load, including two 220L drums of fuel and towing a 5m plate boat. He was doing everything right, but his tyres let him down.
When I head bush I carry two spares one on the caddy of the Kaymar towbar, and the other in the usual Toyota position under the towbar.
You hear a lot about losing tyres from there, or being hung up on a low exit point, or worse still, cutting the tyre to shreds on sharp rocks. I have had neither happen in several hundred thousand kilometers of proper bush travel.
In the last three years I have had three blow-outs - a metal tent peg on a dirt road, a nail on a recent trip and the sidewall speared by a sharp stick in another mishap. It happens in the bush, especially when you are chasing wild hogs as I often do when pig hunting.
I recently removed the almost forgotten underhung spare and noted that it was 11 years old; a factory-fitted Dunlop Grand Trek. It was well worn down when retired as a spare, but never used because the other, more easily accessible caddy spare was used instead. Used tyres that are utilizes as spares and are over three years old should be treated as suspect because the inside metal bands rust and the rubber hardens. The old spare tyre would not have gotten me too far if I had been forced to use it. It has now been replaced by a well used Toyo M55 A/T with the promise that next time I get a flat it will be used first.
All Terrain Tyres:
All-Terrain tyres are a much better choice for general all-round use. They come in different style patterns and are rated, for instant, as 70% on road, 30% off-road, or on the lower scale, 20% on-road and 80% off road. The choice is yours and you can custom-pick your tyres for the particular travel that you do.
As in all things, good tyres cost plenty, but with the choice of budget Chinese 4WD tyres confusing the market, decisions are often difficult, especially from tyre dealers who don't know a dirt road from the black top and will sell you anything to stop you from walking out of the shop.
In my experience you get what you pay for and good, reliable tyres give you not only peace of mind, but also save you money in the long-term due to their longer kilometer lasting ability. For instance, Toyo tyres on my heavy Landcruiser wagon last for 70,000-80,000km provided you look after them with regular correct air pressure checks and rotations every 10,000km. That is the true secret to longer lasting tyre life.
Some owners get as much as 100,000km on the same tyres if they run lighter payloads and don't travel as fast.
At the end of the day poor quality tyres are not to be trusted. They heat up quickly at speed and may blow out if you are carrying a heavy load.
I've been using the Toyo tyres for some years now, first on Toyota 80 and 100S Landcruiser wagons my wife and I used for a tour operation we ran out of Port Douglas.
We still use the same brand of tyres on our current 1998 model S100 LandCruiser. Needless to say, we've done quite a bit of off-road driving! However, Toyo m55 A/T tyres are not cheap and that's why you won't see them on a lot of vehicles. However, they also stand up to hard work amazingly well. I clocked up some 6000km on five Cape York Peninsula trips last year while updating material for a fishing and camping guide and of course magazine articles.
I did get one flat or blow out tyre - not bad considering the tyres had already done some 55,000km.
My travelling companions were not so lucky. One bloke had three blow-outs on a 1,300km round trip from Mareeba to the Coleman River and back. Granted he was carrying a big load, including two 220L drums of fuel and towing a 5m plate boat. He was doing everything right, but his tyres let him down.
When I head bush I carry two spares one on the caddy of the Kaymar towbar, and the other in the usual Toyota position under the towbar.
You hear a lot about losing tyres from there, or being hung up on a low exit point, or worse still, cutting the tyre to shreds on sharp rocks. I have had neither happen in several hundred thousand kilometers of proper bush travel.
In the last three years I have had three blow-outs - a metal tent peg on a dirt road, a nail on a recent trip and the sidewall speared by a sharp stick in another mishap. It happens in the bush, especially when you are chasing wild hogs as I often do when pig hunting.
I recently removed the almost forgotten underhung spare and noted that it was 11 years old; a factory-fitted Dunlop Grand Trek. It was well worn down when retired as a spare, but never used because the other, more easily accessible caddy spare was used instead. Used tyres that are utilizes as spares and are over three years old should be treated as suspect because the inside metal bands rust and the rubber hardens. The old spare tyre would not have gotten me too far if I had been forced to use it. It has now been replaced by a well used Toyo M55 A/T with the promise that next time I get a flat it will be used first.
All Terrain Tyres:
All-Terrain tyres are a much better choice for general all-round use. They come in different style patterns and are rated, for instant, as 70% on road, 30% off-road, or on the lower scale, 20% on-road and 80% off road. The choice is yours and you can custom-pick your tyres for the particular travel that you do.
As in all things, good tyres cost plenty, but with the choice of budget Chinese 4WD tyres confusing the market, decisions are often difficult, especially from tyre dealers who don't know a dirt road from the black top and will sell you anything to stop you from walking out of the shop.
In my experience you get what you pay for and good, reliable tyres give you not only peace of mind, but also save you money in the long-term due to their longer kilometer lasting ability. For instance, Toyo tyres on my heavy Landcruiser wagon last for 70,000-80,000km provided you look after them with regular correct air pressure checks and rotations every 10,000km. That is the true secret to longer lasting tyre life.
Some owners get as much as 100,000km on the same tyres if they run lighter payloads and don't travel as fast.
At the end of the day poor quality tyres are not to be trusted. They heat up quickly at speed and may blow out if you are carrying a heavy load.
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